Automatic gas-shut-off valve



Feb. 24, 1931. L. D. LOVEKIN 1,794,191 if" AUTOMATIC G'As SHUT-OFF ALVEFiled March 8, 1928 'IIIIIIIA Patented Feb. 24, 1931 UNETED. STATESPATEhiT QFFEQ.

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LUTHER D. vLOVEKIN, OF WYNNEWOOD,PENIhTSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO KITSON COM-PANY, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF WEST VIRGINIAAUTOMATIC Ges-snur-orr VALVE Application filed March 8, 1928. Serial No.259,978;

Various means of construction have been proposed which are adaptedtoautomatically shut off the gasto a gas burner employed to heat the waterin a hot water tank or boiler 5 when the temperature of the watertherein has reached a point too high for safety. Heretofore it has beencustomary to provide a special opening in the tank to enable the devicesof the character specified to be attached to the hot water tank orboiler in the proper height, will operate to permit the pressure of thewater to move a valve into position to close the passageway-throughwhich gas is conducted to a burner and thereby extinguish the flame ofsaid burner. For thispur-.

pose a tubular member is employed the inner end of whiohprojects to agreater or less ex tent into the tank or boiler and the outer endofwhich is connected with the casing of the said valve and is incommunication with the interior'thereof. The said tubular memberextends, in the construction shown, through afitting and is connectedtherewith or may be inserted through and secured in any openfusible at apredetermined selected temperature. The fusing of said disc admits hotwater into the said member and the pressure thereof operates, in amanner to be herein after described, to close the valve to which I havereferred.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of the kind towhich I have re- "T fer-red. which will be efficient in operation,

durable in use, and which imum of servicing.

Other obj ects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing description, in which reference will be made to will require aminillustrated one embodiment thereof. But it is to be understood thatthe invention is susceptible of embodiment in otherconstructions andthat various changes in the'details of the construction illustrated maybe made without departing from the invention as defined in the claims.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of the device installed for use,the valve being shown in its open position;

Fig. 2 is likewise a longitudinal sectional view but shows the valve inits closed position after the device has operated;

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. et-is a cross sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. l; and IFig. 5 is a view'showing a modification 0f the structure of Fig. 1 inlongitudinal sec- 3 tion, certain parts being broken away.

In the drawing a tank or boiler l, which may be of usual construction,is provided with a T-fitting 2 constituting the hot water ou let of theboiler. Such a fitting is customarlly employed on hot water heaters andboilers and if not provided in any particularcase may be readilysubstituted for any other fitting which may have been employed. in itsstead. The valve body or casing 8 is provided with inlet and outletpassages 4 in known manner, which are connected respectively to the gassupply and delivery pipes, not shown. The valve body or casing isprovided with a passageway therethrough, the said passageway beingccntrolled by a valve designated enerally having a leather or fiber head7, which is adapted to cooperate with a suitably formed seat 8 providedin the passageway of the valve body or casing. The valve 6 extenced toform a piston 9, which is slidable in the nipple 10 which forms apart ofthe tubular member to which reference previously has been made. Thenipple 10 is provided with exterior screw threads at its inner end whichengage complc mentary interior screw threads formed in 1 6 fiCOInpanying drawing, wherein I have vided at the other end of the saidnipple for 109 u and held therein as shown.

engaging the interior screw threads of an opening in the side of thevalve body or casing 3, as is clearly shown at 12. A packing 13, whichmay consist of a plurality of layers of rubber held in position by the.gland 14, serves to prevent leakage between the interior of the innerend portion of the nipple and the passageway through the valve, as willbe obvious. This piston-like extension 9 of the valve 6 preferably ishollow, as is shown, to make it light, the open end ofthe said pistonbeing closed by a plug but if desired the said extension may be solid.The inner end of the nipple 10 is provided with a ni ole 16 havin an oenin or aassa 'ewav it h g b n.

therethrough. The outer end of said plug is spaced from the inner end ofthe piston-like extension 9, as shown. The inner end of the passagewaythrough the said plug 16 is en larged and has screw threaded engagementwith the outer end of a tubular member or section 17 as shown; Thelatter extends longitudinally through the T-fitting 2 into the boilerand is provided at its inner end with a cap 18 which supports a fusibledisc 19 inserted and retained therein by a bushing 20. The cap 18 isperforated by the holes 21, which permit access of the water in theboiler to the'disc 19 and the bushing 20 which retains the fusible discin the said cap is also provided with an opening 22 for the samepurpose. The nipple 16 and the cap 18 contain strainers 23, consistingof fine wire mesh of the kind known as gasoline gauze secured Thatportion of the nipple 10, already referred to, which is adjacent to theinner end of the piston 9 is tapped to receive a screw 24 by means ofwhich the interior of the nipple may be opened to the atmosphere. Thevalve casing 3 is provided with a removable plug 25, and upon itsremoval a. suitably formed tool may be engaged with a projection 26 onthe valve 6 to depress and open the same.

In Fig. 5 a modification of the invention is shown with certain partsbroken away illustrating a novel form of piston packing which may beemployed in lieu of that disclosed in Fig. 1. I instead of the tubularpiston 9 is mounted in a cylindricalopening 28 in the nipple 10. Thesaid opening is enlarged at its lower end to form a chamber 29 having ashoulder 30' with which the adjacent and lower end of the piston isflush when the valve 6 is in closed position. In order to preventleakage between the piston and the cylinder wall a pln rality of thinrubber discs 31 are attached to the piston 27 by means of a machinescrew 32 having av shoulder which clamps the discs against the end ofthe piston as shown in the drawing. The pressure of any fluid which maybe present in the chamber 29 will tend to force the discs 31 against theshoulder 30 and thereby form an effective seal between the .member 17extending into the boiler.

In the said figure a solid piston 27 said shoulder and the piston, andyet the flexibility of the said discs is such as not to substantiallyresist movement of the piston. lVhen the valve to which piston 27 isconnected (but which valve is not shown) is in open position, the discs31 will be out of engagement with the shoulder 30.

Having in mind the construction of the device as above described, theoperation thereof will be easily understood. The device may be attachedto the fitting 2, as described, with the inner end of the tubl lrllairdisc 19 carried by the cap 18 secured to the inner end of the tubularmember 17 will be subjected to the temperature of the water in theboiler, and when a certain temperature is reached therein whichcorresponds to the melting point of the said disc, the pressure of thewater will puncture the disc and the pressure will then be transmitted11pwardly through the tubular member into the hollow nipple 10 and willbe exerted against the lower-end of the piston 9. hen suflicientpressure has accumulated in the said chamber the valve 6 will be forcedupwardly, seating the head? against the valve seat 8, therebyinterrupting the flow of gas to the gas burner (not shown). Thestrainers 23, through which the water passes under pressure, prevent themelted particles of the fusible disc 19 from being carried through thetube 17 into the valve casing. In practice it has been found that ifthese strainers are not, provided thefused material of the disc will beblown intothe valve body when the disc is ruptured and will tend tosolder the parts together. After the device has operated the gas supplyshould be cut off by a valve which is ordinarily provided but which isnot shown herein, and the valve casing removed from the fitting 2 inorder that the device may be put in condition for further use. A newdisc may be installed in the cap 18 and the valve 6 will assume its openposition upon removal of the plug 24 in order to vent the entrapped airwhich may be present underneath the inner end of the piston9 after thevalve has been operated. The valve can be forced 'awayfrom its seatby'inserting a'tool through the opening which is closed by the plug 25and engaging the said tool with'the valve or with the projection 26. Thevalve casing is then attached to the fitting, as previously described,and will be ready for use when the gas supply and delivery pipes areattached to the openings 4.

Having thus described my invention, what I claimand desire to securebyLetters Patent 1. 'An automatic gas shut-off valve, comprising a valvecasing, a'valve controlling the flow of gas through said casing, apiston connected to said valve and adapted to actuatethe same, the saidpiston being mounted in the said casing, a shoulder formed in the saidcasing, and a packing for said piston comprising one or more flexiblediscs attached to the said piston and adapted to engage the shoulder ofthe casing in which the piston reciprocates when the valve is in closedposition.

2. An automatic gas shut-off device, comprising a valve casing having apassageway therethrough, a valve adapted to control the flow of gasthrough said passageway, a piston connected to said valve and slidablymounted in said valve casing, a shoulder surrounding the opening in saidcasing through which the piston reciprocates, and a packing for saidpiston comprising one or more flexible discs attached to one of its endsand adapted to engage the said shoulder when the valve is in closedposition. 7

3. An automatic gas shut-off device comprising a valve casing having apassageway therethrough, a tubular means leading from a side of the saidcasing and projecting at its inner end into a tank or boiler, the saidtubular means being mounted within a fitting connected to said tank orboiler, a valve for closing the passageway through said casing, saidvalve having a stem projecting from the casing into the outer endportion of the said tubular means and fitting the same closely but beingmovable therein, a strainer located within said tubular means andextending across the passageway therethrough, and a disc of fusiblematerial mounted within the portion of said tubular means which islocated within the tank or boiler for closing the passagewaytherethrough, the said fusible means being adapted to fuse at apredetermined temperature to permit entry of water into said tubularmeans which acts upon the inner end of said stem to efiect closing ofthe said valve.

4. An automatic gas shut-off device, comprising a valve casing having apassageway therethrough, a valve mounted in said casing, fluidpressure-responsive means for actuating the said valve, a tubular memberconnected to said casing and communicating with said means, a disc offusible material mounted in one end of the said tubular member, and astrainer mounted in said tubular member and interposed between saidfusible disc and the said fluid pressure-responsive means.

5. An automatic gas shut-01f device, com prising a valve casing having apassageway therethrough, a valve mounted in the said casing, fluidpressure-responsive means connected to the said valve for actuating thelatter, a tubular member connected at one end to the said casing andcommunicating with the said fluid pressure-responsive means, a disc offusible material mounted in the opposite end of the said tubular member,and strainers mounted in the said tubular memmy invention I havehereunto signed my name this 7th day of March, A. D. 1928. LUTHER D.LOVEKIN.

